Hollow (Ianthony)

Loathed.

Melanie Moat was, needless to say, annoyed. 

The blond’s eyes stayed glued to the road, which was difficult, as Ian kept sliding around in his seat, crying and yelling about how horrible his life was. 

She pitied him. She really did. 

But she also wanted to throw him out of her car. 

First of all, she believed Anthony Padilla was not worth any of this. He was an okay guy. A little weird, kinda douchey, but still okay. But he certainly didn’t belong on the high pedestal that Ian had put him on. He was annoying, a little rude, and had ruined the first real relationship she’d ever had. 

Or had Ian? 

Either way, she was still bitter about it. 

But more importantly, why the hell did she care about Ian so damn much? He’d dumped her and professed his undying love for his male best friend all on the same night, expecting her to feel fucking sorry for him. No matter that she had just lost her boyfriend of seven years to a guy. Nope. She had to grieve for his sad, unrequited love for Anthony. 

She was royally pissed at first, to say the least. That is, until she saw Ian’s face. She had realized then that Ian had never truly been hers. He’d given his heart to Anthony long before she’d even met him and he wanted desperately, so desperately to have someone to confide in. Someone that wouldn’t judge him, no matter what. And because she loved Ian so much, she knew she had to be the one to do it. Besides, she was much stronger than Ian. She’d move on; he wouldn’t. 

And she was right. Shortly after she and Ian had broken up, she met Mark Fischbach, a Youtube gamer, at Vidcon and they had instantly hit it off. She was happy now, much happier than she ever was with Ian, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about him, because she really did. She wanted him to be happy and as much as she didn’t want him to be with Anthony, due to his obvious disinterest in men, she wanted Ian to have whatever it was that made him happy, which, unfortunately, was Anthony. 

She turned down the street leading to the Smosh house, one she’d traveled down so many times before. Ian was still crying, but wasn’t as loud as he had been earlier. She suspected that he had wore himself out. She hoped that once at home, he’d sleep because sitting around and stewing about what had happened that day just wasn’t a good idea at all. Ian was one to let things really get to him and he didn’t let things go easily, either. 

She pulled into the driveway and parked the car. She turned to her right and ogled the blue-eyed man, sighing. “Ian.”

He didn’t look up at her, but she saw his eyes. The normal crystal blue was darkened, haunted, ashen with unshed tears. She could also tell that he was sobering up.

“Come on, Ian,” she coaxed, “we’re at your house.” 

Ian glanced out the window, still not replying. 

Melanie rolled her eyes. She felt sorry for Ian, but she couldn’t sit around and wait for him to work up the energy to get out of the car. Unlike Ian, as it would seem, Melanie did have a life that didn’t revolve around another person. “Get out of my car,” she spat. 

That got his attention. “W-what?” 

“You heard me,” she repeated, “if you’re going to just sit there feeling sorry for yourself, get out. I won’t have it.” 

Ian sighed, grasping the handle, but then he let it go. “What do you mean? 

Melanie softened, shaking her head. “Look Ian, I know you love Anthony. I get that...But he’s married! He doesn’t love you, he never has, and he never will. There’s no use in staying depressed over someone that will never feel the same way.” 

Ian bit his lip. “I-I know. It’s just that...,” he trailed off, sobbing. He placed his face in his hands and began to cry again. 

Melanie put a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “You love him. I know. But Ian, you can’t keep hanging onto someone that just won’t feel the same. It’ll drive you crazy.”

Sniffing, Ian looked up at her. He could see a twinge of sadness in her eyes and he realized that, technically, he’d done the same thing to her only a year before. “Mel, I-” 

She shook her head. “Don’t. It’s in the past. Bringing that up won’t help and apologizing won’t change anything. I’m over you, but it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Don’t make me do it again,” she pleaded. 

He nodded. “You’re too good for me, anyway.” 

Melanie smiled. “True,” she laughed. 

The corners of Ian’s mouth turned up, a hint of a smile playing on his face. 

“But seriously,” Melanie continued, her tone shifting to serious, “you’re Anthony’s best friend in the entire world. Believe it or not, he really needs you, even if it’s not in the way that you want him to.” 

Ian’s lip trembled and he shut his eyes. 

Melanie kept talking. “You’ll find someone. Someone that will love you the way you deserve to be loved. Someone that will love you for you.” 

Ian sighed, reaching for the door handle. “Thanks, Mel.” 

She smiled wanly. “You’re welcome. If you need me, just call, okay?”

He nodded, opening the door and exiting the car. His feet hit the pavement and  he placed his hands on the door to shut it, but before he did, he said one last thing to Melanie. “I’d rather be alone than be with anyone other than Anthony.” 

With that, he slammed the door, walked into the house, and trudged to his bedroom where he proceeded to sob himself to sleep. 

Try not to hate Melanie too much, guys! She has Ian's best interest at heart, I promise! Thanks for reading! :)